Lonzo Ball worked out for the Lakers last week, making it the first (and possibly last) time he went through drills and such for an NBA team ahead of the June 22 draft. Ball spoke after his workout about feeling good about how it went and how he had been excited to speak with Lakers’ management, namely Magic Johnson, and have a chance to show off his skills on both ends of the floor.
Ball did note in his post-workout media availability that the drills got him a bit tired, but that’s what you would expect to happen to everyone that gets put through a workout. However, in the days following Ball’s workout we got multiple reports about the Lakers not being completely sold on him as the No. 2 overall pick and that he didn’t blow them away. These reports were fairly curious considering there was a time when they were reportedly “enamored” with the UCLA prospect, but as the draft approaches and the Lakers’ brass has seen more prospects up close the decision might not be so clear cut.
So, this begs the question of what happened? What could possibly have turned them away at the workout? It wasn’t his father LaVar, who wasn’t even present at the workout, so one would assume it’s something they saw on the court from Ball.
According to Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, the issue the Lakers had with Ball’s workout weren’t about his skills or abilities, but about concerns over conditioning.
Many qualities have made the Lakers impressed with Ball, including his leadership potential, passing and scoring. They are not impressed, however, with his level of conditioning.
Some observers of Ball’s workout last Wednesday thought he came in out of shape. Ball acknowledged that the “drills get you tired, so you got to stay focused.”
Medina went on to explain that the Lakers wouldn’t overreact to a prospect workout, but it certainly offers a bit more concrete insight into what maybe has the Lakers considering other options outside of Lonzo Ball, such as De’Aaron Fox out of Kentucky. I still expect the Lakers to select Lonzo with the second pick, fulfilling his destiny as written by LaVar,
